"As a vet in Darwin - who spent 22 years as a research vet for the Northern Territory Department of Primary Industries and did research on cow death rates on large stations in the late 1980s pre-large scale live export - I believe the live export of cattle to Indonesia is vital for animal welfare both here and in Indonesia."

JULIA Gillard has sought to reassure her anxious backbench over the cruel slaughter of Australian sheep in Pakistan, saying she understands their distress but is standing by the $1 billion live-export industry.

The street parade is the finale of fifteen eclectric days of art, culture and celebration.

March with the Stop Live Export team and help us make a statement. This will be a great opportunity to hand out fliers for the Human Chain event the following weekend. We have about 1,000 to hand out. Will also be handing out information brochures/membership forms to those who want them.

Will see you at our assembly point in car park 20, on the corner of Essex St and Marine Pde, by 3.00 PM.

The livestock export industry and the Federal Government have moved to assure the Australian public that the recent inhumane cull of Australian animals at the hands of Pakistani authorities, graphically depicted on ABC Four Corners last night, was an extraordinary circumstance and not reflective of the vast majority of the trade.

Australia’s peak veterinary organisation, the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) strongly believes that the live export industry must be held to high standards to protect the health and welfare of animals exported for food.

Wellards releases footage of sheep cull and a statement on YouTube, in an attempt to diffuse the wrath that is about to rain down post Four Corners' 'Another Bloody Business', showing tonight on ABC at 8.30 pm.

Abattoir under investigation after reports of roped slaughter in non-compliant abattoir

THE Gillard government is investigating another potential breach of its animal welfare guidelines in Indonesia, after allegations that Australian cattle were slaughtered outside an accredited abattoir. Read full story...

Import quotas of 90,000 head for the current semester were issued by the Indonesian Department of Trade back in July, and most of those cattle have now all but worked their way through the Indonesian feedlot system.

As the dust settles on the troubling events in Pakistan, the Federal Government will now investigate what went wrong, whether the exporter Wellard Rural Exports breached its obligations under the Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System (ESCAS) and, if so, what penalties or sanctions should apply.

It will be interesting to see how many Australian animals get caught up in this event. Despite supposedly being banned from individual sale to members of the public, it's hard to imagine that some sheep won't slip through the ESCAS "safety net".